Best Sci Fi Board Games from 2016

Space: the final frontier!

If you’re looking for empire building epics that span solar systems, terrifying escapes from hungry aliens, or the opportunity to nurture a planet into habitation, then science fiction is the game genre for you.

With a rich history of movies and book lore to draw from, there are so many great sci-fi games in the world that we have to split the best into individual years to help you best decide which ones are definitely worth your time.

5. Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space
(Ultimate Edition)

This is a re-vamp of the 2010 game Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space that feels like a brand-new game.

2-8 players take part in a tense game of cat-and-mouse, with some playing the part of aliens and some playing the part of humans. Draw cards as you move to either broadcast your location or lie to your opponents, and test your bluffing skills against other players as you deduce whether the other players are lying to you.

The aliens want nothing more than to devour the humans, and the humans are searching for the escape pods—but there’s a catch: everyone tracks their movements in a secret player’s book, so no one knows where anyone else is.

Or who is friend and who is foe!

4. Star Wars: Rebellion

Lovers of figurines and the original Star Wars trilogy alike will rejoice upon playing this game. Star Wars: Rebellion reenacts the intergalactic events of Lucas’ classic film franchise as two players go head-to-head as the Empire or the Rebellion for at least three hours of enthralling gameplay.

This strategically brilliant and beautifully made game holds a spot in the top ten best games on BoardGameGeek.

Plot your way through raids, attacks, alliances, and betrayals as the Rebel Alliance tries to bring down the Galactic Empire, and the Empire tries to squash the Rebels.

With a magnificently sweeping scope (more than 32 star systems over two play boards are featured in this truly cosmic game) and intimately personal secret goals your leaders must carry out, Star Wars: Rebellion is the game you’re looking for while you wait for the next Star Wars movie.

3. Star Wars: Destiny

If you’re less of a conquering the galaxy type, might I recommend Star Wars: Destiny.

Characters old and new battle head-to-head in this collectible card and dice game from Fantasy Flight.

Mix-and-match classic characters with modern ones as you choose your fighters carefully. With a deck of events, weapons, and support cards like the Millennium Falcon or AT-ATs, you build your deck and mange your resources to slay your enemy in this fast-paced dueling game.

It combines an easy-to-grasp rule system and simple hero-vs.-villain dynamics with deep strategic planning and critical deck-building skills to create an atmospheric and addictive 2-player game.

Quick gameplay leaves little downtime, and it’s easy to while away an afternoon with this dramatic and delightful game.

2. Star Trek Ascendancy

What if you’d rather explore the stars than conquer them?

Not to worry; you can boldly go where no one has gone before with the exploration and expansion game Star Trek: Ascendancy from Gale Force Nine.

Play as the Federation, the Klingon Empire, or the Romulan Empire as you seek out new life and new civilizations, occasionally coming across one another and battling for supremacy in the galaxy.

Each game feels like new as you build a unique map of stars and systems out into the great unknown. Strategize the defense of your empire, upgrade with research cards, and choose from equally valid play styles to dominate the system through violence, peacefully explore, or spread cultural hegemony.

With infinite combinations of miniatures and systems, this afternoon-consuming game is sure to suck you in assimilate you.

1. Terraforming Mars

This unlikely fan-favorite is one of the highest ranked games on BoardGameGeek, and although it may not be immediately obvious why, once you’ve played it you’ll understand.

This game is based on a sci-fi classic series, Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Mars Trilogy,”.

Players take on the roles of super corporations trying to terraform the red planet and make it habitable for their purposes. Players draw cards to fill oceans, raise planetary temperatures, and watch the planet change before their eyes in this addictive engine-builder from Stronghold Games.

Whether you play with four other people or all on your lonesome, you must compete with other players while simultaneously working together to complete a common goal—it’s a fascinating combination of strategies and play styles that will have you ready to blast off at the first opportunity.

2016 was an excellent year for board games in general, but many of the science fiction games produced that year have a chance to become permanent classics and must-haves on every board gamers’ shelf. Enjoy these games (if you can get your hands on them!) and may the force be with you.